Parent Workshop on Teen Stress

Hi everyone! In this presentation I?ll be discussing factors that contribute to teen stress as well as strategies for managing your child?s stress and strategies for supporting your child?s overall well-being.
So this presentation was actually created based on the results of the needs assessment that was sent out by the district earlier in the year to parents and staff members. So based on the results, teen stress was identified as a high area of concern among parents and faculty members. As I?m sure you?re all aware. Parents and staff member, they also had the opportunity to provide strategies that they believed would be helpful for reducing the high levels of teen stress that?s being seen across school sites. And some of the specific themes that I saw in the respondents? answers were in relation to the need for a change in culture, and by that, I mean more emphasis on the importance of social-emotional health. And so, parents and staff members really believed that social-emotional health needs to be valued as much as academic success. So both of them should be valued at school, at home. And there?s also really a need for more counselors and school psychologists to support the ever-increasing social-emotional needs that we?re seeing at the school setting.
There is also a change in culture that needs to, or a change in viewpoint that needs to shift regarding community college and trade schools. Some many parents and students are overly focused on getting in to four-year colleges and universities which we know are becoming increasingly expensive and more difficult to get into. And so, community colleges and trade schools really need to be viewed as a viable option and a positive one for students.
The second area that I really saw as a need based on parent and staff feedback was the fact that students need to feel valued in order for their stress to be decreased. So, that means that teacher and student relationships need to be strengthened so that students feel comfortable and welcomed in their classes. Students need to feel comfortable and respected in the classrooms. And there also needs to be an overall climate of kindness so that students feel supported by their peers and by their teachers.
In order to learn more about the prevalence of teen stress, I actually looked at the research and found a nationwide study completed by the American Psychological Association on teen and adult stress which had some really surprising statistics. The first is that during the school year teens report their stress level to be higher than levels reported by adults on the past month. This is really shocking for me to see based on the fact that a lot of adults believed that teens don?t experience stress at similar rates. Additional findings that were surprising were that thirty percent of teens reported feeling sad or depressed because of stress. Thirty-one percent felt overwhelmed. Thirty-five percent reported that stress caused them to lie awake at night. And twenty-six percent reported they are overeating or eating unhealthy foods in the past month. And so, when people are experiencing high levels of stress whether it be adults or teens, we see healthy behaviors being impacted. So, these are things like exercise, sleeping well, and eating healthy food, which can really impact learning in the school setting. And so clearly this is a nationwide issue that needs to be addressed.
As you all likely know, teens have a variety of stressors that they are dealing with on a daily basis. One of the big ones is social acceptance. So high school teens, especially those who don?t have an established peer group, worry about making friends and avoiding bullying. But it?s also important to realize that every teen experiences problems with friends, or peers at school at some point, whether it?s bullying, or just day to day conflicts.
Romantic relationships I think are also a big area that can result in stress. There?s a lot of pressure to be in a romantic relationships in high school and that really causes stress for students especially for those questioning their sexuality. Another big area is school demands and frustrations. So this is primarily in relation to earning good grades which becomes more difficult as classes become more challenging and the workload increases.
As you all know too, preparing for college is a huge area of stress for high school students. It takes considerable time and effort to decide which colleges to apply to, to complete applications, to visit schools, go on interviews, etcetera, so this is a huge area.
Parental pressure can also be a big area. So parents can put pressure on their high schoolers to excel and get into a good college which can result in their expectations being too high at times and their children being really pressured into taking on too many activities while also trying to establish that independence.
They?re also experiencing changes in their bodies. So they?re having negative thoughts and feeling about themselves.
Family issues and factors are also huge. So things like financial problems, having unsafe living environments or neighborhoods, separation, illnesses, death of a loved one, these are all additional family factors that can contribute to teen stress.
It?s really important to understand the impact that stress has on the mind and the body because it can be really powerful. And the same American Psychological Association study that actually found that teens report higher levels of stress than adults also found that teens underestimate the effect that stress has on their mind and body and behavior. So as you know, a certain level of stress is normal. And positive stress responses from events such as changing schools and meeting new friends can actually help students learn and grow. But when teens are exposed to repeated stressful events without having the tools to manage their feelings, stress can become emotionally and physically toxic. Some of the bodily symptoms that students experience are things like headaches, stomachaches, fatigue, tiring easily, experiencing a loss of breath, difficulty sleeping, and cardiac problems from chronic stress and insignificant instances. This then affects the mind, so this results in worrying, negative thinking, and impulsivity so making hasty decisions which then impacts the emotions. So emotional states that can be impacted are things like irritability, students can have difficulty managing their emotions appropriately, they may experience increased sensitivity, and maybe prone to anxiety and depression.
Finally, behavior is impacted. So this is students? academic and physical performance. Students may become restless, have difficulty concentrating and maintaining their attention. Their diet may be impacted so they begin eating too much or too little which can then lead to weight loss or weight gain. So stress clearly has a large effect on teens overall level of functioning which is why it?s such an important issue to address.
So now that we?ve covered the causes of stress and its effect on students, it?s important to address the way that teen stress can be minimized and managed. So here you see some helpful strategies. One is monitor child stress. So consider questions like does it appear to be affecting their health, behavior, thoughts, or feelings? Help them identify what?s within their control versus what is not, and really help them focus on what in their control. Brainstorm stress-relieving distractions. Things like playing an instrument, painting, hanging out with friends, whatever is stress-relieving for them. Listen carefully and watch for overloading. So, ask your children if they?re feeling overwhelmed by their activities and responsibilities. Learn and model stress management skills. Things like exercise and engaging in relaxing activities. Support your kid?s involvement in sports and other pro-social activities as these can release stress with physical activity and fun activity with others. Hold high expectations but steer away from perfection. This is a really important one so praise for effort and not for grade. Set limits for social media. And focus on building adaptive coping skills versus maladaptive coping skills. So these are things like engaging in exercise, mindfulness, learning social, problem solving, and conflict resolution skills, implementing healthy eating and sleeping habits, and receiving emotional support versus engaging in emotional eating.
In order to support your child when he or she is feeling stressed, it?s also important to be aware of behaviors that they can be engaging in to decrease their overall stress level. So, these are things like exercising and eating regularly, getting enough sleep and having a good sleep routine, avoiding excess caffeine as these can increase feelings of anxiety and agitation. Avoid illegal drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Learning relaxation exercise, abdominal breathing and muscle relaxation techniques. Rehearsing and practicing situations that cause stress. An example of this would be taking a speech class if talking in front of a class cause anxiety for them. Having them learn practical coping skills so breaking a large task into smaller, more attainable tasks. Decreasing negative self-talk. This really means challenging those negative thoughts with alternative, neutral, or positive ones. So, an example of this would having a student initially say to themselves my life would never get better to I may feel hopeless now, but my life will probably get better if I work at it and get some help. So really, we?re phrasing those negative thoughts into more neutral or positive ones. Also learning to feel good about doing a competent or good enough job rather than being perfect which is why one of the recommendations for parents is not emphasizing having things to be perfect. Having students take a break from stressful situations. And engaging in behaviors like listening to music, talking about friends, drawing, writing, or spending time with a pet.
So, there are a variety of programs and services that are available for students, but it is important to note that a lot of them require your child to advocate for themselves and seek out help if they need support or they want to be involved on campus. So, we do have school counselors and school psychologists on campus. Walk-ins are accepted but parent permission is required if students are under eighteen and are seen for more than one session. So, there are there students, you know, that are experiencing anxiety, or depression, or just any school-related stress, or with their personal problems they are welcome to come and talk to a school counsellor or school psychologist. Administrators are also available, so principal and vice-principals if there is a more serious issue potentially related to bullying the tutoring center is also a great resource. Students can receive help on academic work and in turn decrease school-related stress. There is also a variety of clubs available. Some great ones we have on campus are the Acts of Random Kindness Club, The Girls Empowering Girls Club, and the Link Crew with supports freshmen. There is also a variety of sports teams that students can get involved with. And so, we encourage all students to participate in activities on campus since we know that students experience less stress as well as a higher quality high school experience when they?re connected to the school.
And finally, there are a variety of resources available to students and the school community to support their mental and physical health as you can see here. And the resources that are displayed here, they can also be found in a brochure in the main office on campus.
Thank you so much for listening everyone. Please complete the feedback form that was passed out to you and leave it at the table in the front. And then leave your email and your feedback form if you?d like to receive a copy of this presentation. You can have all of those viable resources. And then finally if you?d like to contact me with any questions or concerns my email is [email protected]. Thanks!